Wax Mannequin

Hamilton, Ontario, CAN

BandFolkAvant-garde

Part wandering minstrel, part rock animal, Wax Mannequin combines his thoughtful musicality with darkly whimsical lyricism. He will indoctrinate you with chilling harmonies, absurd poetics and the almighty power of the guitar.

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Biography

Strange-folk phenomenon Wax Mannequin is well-travelled. He has crossed a wide range of terrain -- both sonic and physical -- this decade past. Through his catalogue of secretly renowned recordings and his riotous live performances at countless venues and festivals, Wax continues to bring his essential voice and vision to both sides of the Atlantic. His legend grows through word-of-mouth as his music is passed from hand-to-hand -- his influence trickles down from the minds of wayward kindred souls, insidiously seeping into the poetic heart of this country.

Chris Adeney adopted the moniker Wax Mannequin in 2001 when he released a strange, circuit bent bedroom recording and began a series intense, confrontational shows around his province. In 2003, with the release of his second album 'and Gun', Wax hit the trans-Canadian road where his performances took on a decidedly harder edge -- absurd yet earnest lyrics were delivered emphatically over distorted electric guitar and bombastic electronic accompaniment. In the struggle of travel and survival, Wax's cerebral performance-art urges were torn asunder, like bloody roses ripped from the flesh and thrown to the multitude. Between 2004 and 2008 he released two band-backed rock records -- 'The Price' (2004) and 'Orchard and Ire' (2007) -- that captured the vein-busting fervour and strange charisma of his live show.

In 2009, Wax Mannequin released 'Saxon' -- an expectedly odd and captivating collection of songs that, for the most part, returned to more acoustic, contemplative timbres of his early work. This ambitious and eclectic work is unified by its melodic craft, gritty tonality, and darkly whimsical lyrics, winning critical praise and longevity on both sides of the Atlantic. With influences as varied as Talking Heads, Ween, Frank Zappa, Towns Van Zandt, and Will Oldham, Saxon continues to find new audiences overseas and it is planned for re-release on Germany's Artfull Sounds record label.

Wax Mannequin has recently released his sixth record 'No Safe Home', and has once again abandoned the trappings of his newly domesticated life in favour of wayward travel. In this hauntingly spacious, sparsely produced acoustic record, Wax uses his raspy and road-broken guitar to provide a thoughtful glimpse into the psyche of our age, or at least into his own paranoid yet endearingly self-aware interpretation of our place and time.

While his personal idiosyncrasies, lyrical depth and other-worldly melodic sensibilities have kept Wax Mannequin safely out of mass-appeal, they also make him impossible to dismiss or forget. With a name that is whispered with bewilderment and reverence in art galleries, garages and rock pubs throughout Canada and Europe, Wax Mannequin continues indefinitely to bring his timeless brand of strange folk and absurdist pop music to the far reaches of the western world.

Praise for No Safe Home:

"It’s a collection of truly contemplative tales that continue to show off his incredible talent and deep connection to both this country and his craft."- National Music Centre (nmc.ca) | August 2012

"From emotional lamentations and serenades to whistling campfire melodies, every second of this record is masterfully crafted. While he's diverged once again from his past albums, he's still set himself apart from the rest of the music out there. Start to finish, No Safe Home is a gorgeous piece of work.?"- indieroundtable.com | August 2012

"Hamilton’s Wax Mannequin has moved toward his folkier side on his sixth album. No Safe Home, [is a] cohesive and mellow, almost miniature, album... 4/5"- Now Magazine (Toronto) | August 2012

"With the release of his sixth full length album, No Safe Home, Hamilton's Wax Mannequin further solidifies his status as one of Canada's best kept folk secrets. "- snobsmusic.net | August 2012

"Wax Mannequin’s inventions are boundlessly enthralling... Though No Safe Home is fairly stripped down instrumentally, Chris Adeney’s lyrical pacing tip-toes the borders of certainty and delirium in such an enchanting manner that the music at times feels like a delicate accompaniment to his fabulist’s canter. "- Southernsouls.ca | August 2012

"No Safe Home, the sixth album from freak folk experimentalist Wax Mannequin — the alter-ego of Hamilton singer/songwriter Chris Adeney — is an ink-black sonic exploration that picks up where 2009’s Saxon left off.?...Anchored by Adeney’s wry, observational songwriting, No Safe Home is designed to be listened to as a whole.?"- Uptown Magazine (Winnipeg) Feature Interview | August 2012